Learning Disabled Left Behind

Joan Ryan's column in today's SF Chronicle does a good job of deconstructing the myth that students requesting accomodations on the SAT are mostly affluent white kids trying to gain that extra edge.

It's probably true that students receiving accomodations are more white and affluent than test takers as a whole. Ms. Ryan points out:

Some might say this reinforces the "gaming" notion. But I would argue it reinforces the shortcomings of "standardization." The few students [about 2 percent] who get accomodation have to jump through all kinds of hoops, sending to the College Board test results on cognitive ability, information processing and reams of other costly assessments. Lower-income students from schools with sparse resources are less likely to produce such documentation.

The solution? Make the SAT an untimed test. Ryan cites research that indicates that scores for kids without learning disabilities only go up four or five points with unlimited time on the test, while scores for kids with verified learning disabilities go up 40 or 50 points with the extra time. And, she points out, anyone who can finish the test within the current 3 hours 45 minutes allotted is unlikely to stay longer even if the test is untimed.

This idea seems to be gaining some traction, with a similar opinion put forth on the Op-Ed page of yesterday's New York Times.